The CIFS (Common Internet File System) protocol, which was originally proposed by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., has made significant gains in the file sharing tool market. Many entities, both public and private, nowadays employ a CIFS-enabled server to manage file access within their networks. Along with the rising popularity of CIFS, many malware programs (such as viruses or adware or the like) have begun to exploit CIFS to spread their destruction. Solutions are required to combat malware and the potential damage that malware can wreak in either the client computer or the server.
When a client computer issues an open, read or write request for a given file, the CIFS instruction is relayed to the file server, which services the request. The inventors herein are aware of anti-virus arrangements in which the file server relays the CIFS instructions to an anti-virus server prior to servicing the request. The anti-virus server then ascertains whether the file at issue should be scanned.
If the file needs to be scanned, the anti-virus server then scans the file and relays the scanning result back to the file server. Depending on the result of the scan, the file-related request by the client computer may be granted or denied. On the other hand, if the file is determined as one that does not need scanning, the anti-virus server informs the file server accordingly, and the file server may then respond to the outstanding request.
The integration of an anti-virus server with a given file server necessary to implement the solution discussed above typically requires a significant amount of effort and expertise on the part of the integrator, as well as specific knowledge regarding the commands and architecture of the file server involved. As such, these custom-crafted solutions tend to be more expensive and time-consuming to implement.
What is desired, therefore, are arrangements and methods for efficiently providing scanning capabilities and/or scanning protection for CIFS-enabled networks.